World Sleep Day is held every March, an event which promotes sleep health. Good sleep health is important for anyone involved with driving vehicles, and not something to be underestimated. In Ireland, the RSA suggests that driver fatigue is a contributory factor to 20% of fatal crashes every year. RSA stats reveal that 28% of people have nodded off (even momentarily) while driving, with this figure being 33% for those who drive to work. These are all frightening figures, which every fleet manager should be wary of. We’ve talked before about how a good fleet management system places emphasis on vehicle safety, but human factors should never be overlooked; in this article, we shall take a look at how fleet managers can mitigate the risk of driver fatigue.

Fleet Managers Should Instill a Safety Culture

Fleet managers should make sure that drivers are aware of the importance of adequate rest before getting behind the wheel. For instance, if you are the manager of a fleet of vans, you should make sure that all new drivers are advised of the importance of rest as part of the induction process, working with your HR department if needed. Maintaining this culture of safety is just as important, for example, dashboards of company vehicles could be affixed with stickers reminding the drivers of the consequences of driver fatigue. It should also be emphasised at any employee safety briefings that may take place throughout the year. You can have the safest cars or vans on the planet, but if your drivers are heading out without rest then you’re set up for disaster.

Plan Routes and Rosters Carefully

Productivity is important to any business, but it should never be at the expense of safety. When planning duties and routes, managers should ensure that the journey can be accomplished without having the driver(s) behind the wheel for too long without a break. This also applies to rest breaks between driving. If necessary, relief drivers should be factored in.

Be Mindful of Weather Conditions and Other Causes of Delay

Inclement weather and even local events can cause chaos for traffic, and what should be a quick driver can quickly escalate into a multi-hour ordeal. If such scenarios drivers should be encouraged to take breaks when practical and not to turn back immediately on reaching their destination if it means they are driving in excess of what is considered safe.

Fleet Managers Should be Aware of Mandatory Driver Rest Requirements

In Ireland, driver rest requirements are set out by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. This stipulates:

• Daily driving periods should not go over 9 hours, (with an exemption of twice a week when it can be extended to 10 hours).
• Total weekly driving time must never exceed 56 hours.
  The total fortnightly driving time may not go over 90 hours.
• Drivers must have a daily rest period of at least 11 hours, with an exception of going down to 9 hours (this exception cannot exceed three times a week). This rest can be split into 3 hours rest followed by a 9 hour rest to make a total of 12 hours.
• A break of at least 45 minutes (which can be separated into 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes) should be taken after 4 hours 30 minutes of driving.
  Weekly rest must be taken after 6 days of working (with exceptions for international coach drivers)
• Weekly rest if 45 continuous hours but this can be brought down to 24 hours every second week.
  Daily or weekly allowances may only be exceeded in exceptional circumstances by up to one hour to ensure that a driver can reach their residence or employer’s operational centre.
• Exceeding the daily and/or weekly driving times by up to two hours is also allowed to enable the driver to reach his/her place of residence or the employer’s operational centre in order to take a regular weekly rest period.

We hope that this article has given you some insight as to how fleet managers can mitigate the risk of driver fatigue, and why it is necessary. Of course, having a well-maintained, compliant fleet is also crucial to maintaining safety, but human factors should never be overlooked.